Machine for severing cotton laps or ribbons in predetermined lengths and for covering same



July 14, 1925. 1,545,557

C. G. GUIGNARD MACHINE FOR SEVERING COTTON LAPS OR RIBBONS IN PREDETERMINED LENGTHS AND FOR COVERING SAME Filed June 6, 1924 6 Sheets-Sheet l July 14, 1925. 1,545,557

C. G. GUIGNARD MACHINE FOR SEVRING COTTON LAPS OR RIBBONS IN PREDETERMINED LENGTHS AND FOR covERING SAME Filed June 6, k1924 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 n att-orang July 14, 1.925. 1,545,557

' C. G. GUIGNARD MACHINE FOR SEVERINO COTTON LAPS OR RIBBONS IN PREDETERMINED LENGTHS AND FOR COVERING SAME Filed June 6, 1924 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 7 11;?, 4. 5 f zff// 22 v f-2L 37 5 noem/(ofc i 6. 'ugizard July 1'4, 1925. v 1,545,557

C G. GUIGNARD MACHINE FOR SEVERING COTTON LAP ORRIBBONS IN PREDETERMINED LENGTHS AND v FOR COVERING SAME Filed June e. 1924 6 sheets-Sheet 4 555907 i* im 67. Hug/'gawd July 14, 1925. 1.545.557

C. G. GUIGNARD MACHINE FOR SEVERING COTTON LAPS OR RIBBONS IN PREDETERMINED LENGTHS AND FOR COVERING SAME Filed June 6, 1924 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 J1/want o@ @6i Hug/Zara! .luy 4, 1925. 545,557

MACHINE FOR SEVERING COTTON LAPS OR RBBONS IN PREDETERMINED LENGTHS AND C. G. GUIGNA-RD FOR COVERING SAME Filed June G. 1924 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 gnou/Lto@ (972 ard Patented July .14, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHRISTOPHER G. GUIGNARD, OF COLUMBIA, SOUTHCABDLINA.

MACHINE FOR SEVERING COTTON LAPS OR RIBBONS IN PREDETERMINED LENGTHS .AND FOR COVER/ING SAME.

Application led June 6, 1924. Serial No. 718,415.

To all rwhom t may concern:

Be it known that I, CHRISTOPHER G. GUIG- NARD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Columbia, in the county of Richland and State of South Carolina, have invented a new and useful Machine for Sever-ing Cotton LapsI or Ribbons in Predetermlned Lengths and for Covering Same, of whlch the following is a specification.

IThe object of my invention is to provide a novel machine for cutting cotton laps 1n predetermined lengths for use in the m'anufacture ofy sanitary napkins or pads, and hospital dressings and for covering these laps with a tubular knitted fabric; and to provide the novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described.

I attain these and other objects of `my 1nvention by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which` U Figure 1 is a side elevation of the entire apparatus; l

Fig. 2 is a top, plan ofsame;

' Fig. 3 is a side elevation with the protecting cover removed from the gears;

4 is a side elevation from the opposite side of said severing machine;

Fig. 5 is ,a vertical section through the severing machine;

Fig. 6 is a transverse section on line 66 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 7 is al detail ."perspective view of l members 37, 36, 31, 44, 30, 29, 28 and 26;

Fig. 8 is a detaill perspective view of member 53;

Fig. 9 is a vertical section on line 9'-9 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 10 is a section on line 1O1Ol of Fi 1 t Figjll is a detail sectional'view on line.

11-11 of Fig. 1; f

Fig. 12v is a diagrammatic view of the rolls of the severing machine in position prior toV the severing o eration;

Fig. 13 is a similar view of the rolls during the act of severing cotton laps; l

Fig. 14 is an enlarged longitudinal sectlon through tube T- showing the feeding of the cotton laps into the tubular fabric W; and

Fig. 15 is a detail sectional view of the ,severing mechanism. Y I

' Like numerals indicate like parts in each of the several views. i, s

Referring to the accompanying drawings the main frame of the severing machine is designated 1 yand mountedl on this main frame are standards 2, which lsupport the rollers 5 and 6. The rollers 5 are mounted 1n bearin blocks 3 ,and the rollers 6 are mounted 1n bearing blocks 4. The up r blocks 4 and 3 are vertically slidable, ut the blocks 3 are normally held in lowered posltion by the springs 47. As shown in Figs. 5 and 6, I provide a main drive shaft' 7 journaled in frame 2 and carrying a sprocket 8 driven by chain 9 which 1n turn is driven by sprocket 10 on stub shaft 11, which-shaft also carries the gear 12. The gear 12 meshes with a gear 13 on shaft 14 which carries the drive pulleys' 15 driven by'any suitable source of power. Referring to Fig. 3, the end of shaft 7 opposite to that carrying sprocket i8 carriesthe inion 16 which meshes with pinion 17. e latter pinion is mounted on the extended end of the shaft carrying the lower roller 5. Pinion. 17 meshes with pinion 18 splinedon' the extended end of the shaft carrying upper roller 5. Pinions 16, 17, 18 and -20 are of equal size ratio. I provide a gear 19also carried by-shaft 7 which is of a ratio of preferably three to one relative to pinion 16. Gear 19 meshes with gear y20 carried on the end of the shaft carrying the lower roller 6, as best shown in Fig. 6.

Referring to Fig. 4, I provide on the end of shaft 7 nearest sprocket 8 a gear 21 splined to the shaft. This gear, which is of identical size with gear 19, meshes with ear 22, as shown in Fig. 4. lI rovide the ink 23 extending between sha s 7 and 89 to keep gears 21 and 22 in mesh. I also provide a link 25 extending between shaft 89 and shaft 27 and holding gear 22 and pinion 24 in mesh. I further provide the upwardly extending links 26 on op osite sides of the machine connecting the s aft 27 with the shaft 28 asshown in Figs. 4 and 6. Shaft 28, as shown in Fig. 6; is engaged by the ends 29 of bell crank lever 30, which is swingably mounted on shaft. 35, as shown in Figs. 5 a'd 7. Y Referring to Fig. 7, I -provide a casting 31 having a protruding cam member 32 adapted to engage the roller 36. Roller 36 is ,adjustably mounted in disc 37, a plurality of apertures 39.being providedin the ldisc to permit of such adjustablefmounting of roller 36. Disc 37 is mounted on shaft 38. Referring to Fig.' '4, I'provide a gear 40 susI is mounted. I also provide standards 69 be@- keyed to shaft 38. Gear 40 meshes with the larger idle gear 41. Gear 41 is carried on stub shaft 42 mounted in standard 43.

I provide a sprin 44 attached at 46 to casting 31 and attac ed to frame 1 at 45. Referring to Fig. 2, I provide a guideplate 48 leading to the rollers 5; and a guide plate 49 leading from the rollers 6 to guide the strip of cotton Sinto and from the respec tive rollers.

As shown in Fig. 3, I provide a lever 51 mounted by pivot 50 on frame 1. The outer end of lever 51 carries shaft 52, on which is mounted the block 53 which carries the friction fingers 54 adapted to engage the tubular fabric W, as shown in Fig. 1 to cause to feed smoothly through the tube T. Lever 51 carries a weight 55 adjustably mounted on its inner end, as shown in Fig. 1.

As shown in Fig. 2, shaft 38 is provided with a s rocket wheel 56 which drives sprocket c ain 57, which in turn drives the sprocket 58 on shaft 59 of the cutting inachine. Shaft 59-is mounted in suitable bearing 60, as shown in Fig. 9.' On the end of shaft 59 opposite that carrying the sprocket wheel 58 is keyed the roller 61 provided with a suitable friction coverin 62 of rubber or leather. This roller is o such diameter that its circumference is equal to twice the length of the lap `of cotton, napkin or pad N. Friction covering 62`is provided with a circumferentialfgroove 63 in which the tongue 72 of guide plate 71 rides, as shown in Fi 10 and-Fig. 2. I provide a roller 64 of like width to roller 61 and also provided with a friction covering 65. Shaft 66 ismounted in a hinge bearing 67, as shown in Fig. 9. I provide a verticall slidable bearing 68 in which shaft 66 also tween whichbearing 68 slides, the bearing bein engaged by spring 7 0, as shown in Fig. 9, w ereby to hold the roller 64 `in resilient friotional engagement with roller 61, as shown in Fig. 9. Guide plate 71 is provided with a knife edge 73 along its outer edge. I also rovide a rotary knife 74 which co-acts with the'knife edge 73 to shearv off the tubular fabric covering2 as shown dia ammatically in Fig. 15. Knife 74 is carrie on shaft 75 as shown` in Fig. 10, 'and is held in operative engagement with knife edge 73 by spring 76. Shaft 75 carries a ar at its end which meshes with the gear 8 on shaft 59 to cause the knife 74 to follow a continuous rotary course. Gear 78 is preferabl of a ratio of two to one relative to gear 7 I provide a suitable cylindrical housing 79 to substantially inclosethe rotating knife 74 to prevent accidents to operatives. Housing 9 is provided with a cutaway portion 80 for the passage of the fabric-covered strips ofv cotton which are to form the napkins N, the fabric covering of which is to be severed at a point between the s aced strips.

Re erring to Figs. 1 and`2, I provide a suitable channel 82 throuofh which the`cot ton strip or ribbon is guided to the first set of rollers 5. The continuous strip or ribbon ocotton S is fed along by means of an endless belt 81 which forms the bottom' of the channel 82. Belt 81 travels over a pulley 83 on shaft 84 which is journaled in suitable bearings 85, as shown in Fig. 6. Shaft 84 carries a bevel gear 86 which meshes with from which it is fed through the tube T in.

the manner illustrated in Fig. 14. The other end of tube T in which the tubular fabric is fed is supported at the proper height to advantageously receive the short severed strips of cotton F. The inflow of fabric W is regulated by the friction fingers 54 mounte on block 53. The height of this block and of the friction fingers is adjstably regulated by the lever 51 and adjustable weight 55, permitting of delicate ad'ustment.

n operating the invention, the strip or ribbon of cotton S is fed by the belt. 81, which travels in the direction indicated by the arrow. `Strip S is fed over platform 48 and between rollers 5, which preferably are smooth rollers; andthen through rollers 6,

y which preferably are corrugated rollers,

4The upper roller 6 is intermittently raised -vand lowered. As the rollersy 6 are travelling` at a higher rate of speed than the rollers 5 they will sever the cotton at a point -between the rollers 5 and 6 when'the upper roller 6 is brought down into operative engagement with the strip of cotton passing over the lower roller 6. The strip is thus severed into masses of cotton F of predetermined lengths which pass into the open end of tube T which carries the tubular fabric W. Said tubular fabric W is continuously fed from the exterior of tube T over its smooth tapered end as indicated by arrows in Fig. 1 and is also shown in Fig. 14 thus covering the spaced masses of cotton with the tubular fabric WV in the manner shown in Fig. 14. The pads or masses of cotton F covered by the tubular fabric W on emerging from tube T pass between the rubber 'covered'rollers 64 and 61 which frictionally platform 71 and past the hire 74 which at regular intervals severs the tubular fabric at the portions between the fabric-covered spaced pads or masses of cotton which form the sanitary napkin N". The knife 74 which is preferably a rotary knife is operatively connected to the shaft that carries the fric-y tion wheel 61 and is operated at regular intervals. K

Thev operation of the upper corrugated roller 6 is controlled by the disk 37 which carries the roller 36 which roller engages cam 32 causing the bell crank lever 30 to swing in the manner and direction indicated in dotted llines in Fig. 5 and thus depress arm 26 and also the upper slidable bearing 4 and upper roller 6 to intermittently bring it into contact with the ribbon of cotton that is passing rollers 6. Upper roller 6 is nor-V mally held in elevated position bythe spring 44 which is attached to casting 31 carrying the cam 32 and normally presses against the casting to hold it in the position shown in.. heavy .lines in Fig. 5. The upper roller 5 is continuously pressed towards the lower roller 5 by the spring 47. The arrange ment of gearing shown in Fig. 3 causes the rollers 6 to travel-at a higher rate of s eed ythanthe rollers 5 in consequence of w ich they will pull 4the ribbon of cotton sufficiently to sever 1t at a point between the rollers 5 and the rollers 6. \As this depression of upper roller 6 into operative contact with the strip of cotton occurs at regular intervals controlled by the disk 37 the strip' of cotton is severed into masses or pads of a uniform length and this length may be regulated lby changing the ratio of the gearing 'should such change be desired.

As the mechanism for cutting the covered pads N is operatively connected with and driven by sprocket chain 57 from the machine for severing the strip of cotton into `predetermined lengths, these two machines pair of rollers through which a strip of cotton mayl continuously be fed, means for continuously operating said rollers at a redetermined speed, a second pair of ro lers spaced from the first pair of rollers, means for operating said second pair of rollers at a hig er rate of speed than the first pair of rollers, and means for intermittently opening apart and closing together the second pair of rollers at pre-determined intervals to sever the strip of cotton at a point between the two pairs of rollers.

2. In a machine of the class described, thel continuousl combination of a pair of rollers, one of the rollers being slidably mounted and resiliently pressed toward the other roller, a second pair of rollers spaced from the first pair of rollers, the upper roller of said second pair of rollers being slidably mounted, means for moving said upper roller at predetermined intervals into a lowered and operative position relative to the corresponding lower roller, and means for driving the second pair of rollers at a fasterjrate of speed than the first pair of rollers whereby tosever the strip of cotton into predetermined lengths.

. 3.y In a machine of the class described, the combination of a pair of rollers, one of the rollers being slidably mounted and resiliently pressed toward the other roller, a second pair of rollers spaced from the .first pair of rollers, the upper roller of,said second pair of rollers being slidably mounted, and means for moving said upper roller atpredeterf mined intervals into a lowered and operative position relative to the lower roller. l '4. In a machine of the class described, a pair. of rollers through which a strip of cotton may be fed, means for continuously operating said rollers at a predetermined speed, a second pair of rollers spaced from the first pair of rollers, means for operating saidsecon'd pair of rollers at a higher rate of speed than-the first. ir of rollers,y and means for ceding a strip of cotton to the first air o rollers.

5. n a machine of the class described, a pair of rollers through which a ystrip of cotton may be fed, means for operating said rollers at a pre-determined speed, a second pair of rollers spaced from the first pair of rollers, means for operating said second pair of rollers at a higher rate of speed than the first pair of rollers,'means for continuously feeding a strip of cotton to the first pair of rollers, means for intermittenti the upper roller of the second palr of ro' lers Yinto contact with the lower roller to 'effect intermittent severing of the strip of cotton as it is continuously fedthrough the `first pair of rollers, and means for continuousl covering the severed strips of cotton with the tubular fabric into which the spaced strips are drawn at intervals.

brin 'n g il@ 6. In combination with the apparatus dis- "closed in claim 5, means for cuttin the tubular fabric encasing the aforesai strips of cotton at 'uniform intervals between the covered Astrips of cotton, substantially as shown. i f

7. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a pairA of rollers throu h which a vstrip of cotton may be continuouy fed, means for operating said rollers at a pre-determined speed,` a second pair of rollmeans for continuously operating said Sec- -ers spaced from the rst pair of4 rollers, p*

ond pair of rollers at a higher rate of speed than the first pair of rollers to sever the strip of cotton into predetermined lengths, means for continuously feeding a strip of cotton to the first pair -of rollers, means for continuously covering the severedstrips of cotton .with the tubular-fabric into which the spaced combination of a pair of rollers through `which a strip of cotton may be continuously fed, means orcontinuously operating said rollers ata predetermined speed, a second' pair of rollers spaced apart from the first pair of rollers, means for operating said second pair of rollers at a predetermined and higher rate of speed than the first pair of rollersand means for intermittently bringing the up er roller of the second pair into 'contact wit the lower roller to effect intermittent severing of the strips of cotton being continuously fed through the first pair of rollers and thus to sever the cotton in short strips and at a point between the two pairs of rollers, aftube mounted on the machine and adapted to carry a tubular fabric, said tube having a smooth and tapered end permitting a. fragile tubular fabric to be drawn over samewithout tearing, said end being positioned to receive the strips of cot-V ton at spaced intervals, the tubular fabric being drawn into and through the interior of the tube, and a pair of friction rollers between which the tubular fabric and enclosed strips of cotton are drawn as they emerge from the tube.

9. In combination with the apparatus described in claim 8, means resiliently` holding one of the friction rollers in operative relation to the other friction roller.

10. In-combination with the apparatus described in claim 8, means resiliently holding one of the friction rollers in operative relation to the other friction roller, and a continuously operating knife arranged to sever the tubular fabric at uniform intervals between the spaced enclosed strips, and means operatively connecting and controlling said knife with the mechanism that controls the two pairs of rollers which sever the cotton into short strips, whereby the entire apparatus will operate in synchronism.

11. In combination with the apparatus described in claim 8, a block carrying friction fingers, said fingers regulating the infiow of the. fabric entering the interior lof the tube to encase thefsevered strips of cotton, and. 

